How former Falcons fared in Week 6

Matt Ryan finally has a big day, Foye Oluokun keeps it rolling, and more from this week’s ex-Falcons report.

While the Falcons were busy dropkicking the 49ers through a plate glass window, former Falcons around the league were winning, losing, and not doing much of anything in Week 6.

This is not a complete list of former Falcons with other NFL teams, but I did expand the list this week by popular request. Let’s get to it.

QB Matt Ryan

He’s 37 years old, but Ryan is now coming off a performance where he threw the second-highest number of attempts in his entire career and had more completions than he ever had in Atlanta. The end result was a 389 yard, three touchdown performance on on 58 attempts and 42 completions, plus a win for Indianapolis.

Ryan had struggled and suffered all year before this, but in this one he looked a lot more like classic Matt Ryan, albeit on a lot more attempts than you’d expect him to get on a weekly basis. That rounding into form is a big deal for a player who just didn’t look comfortable up until this point, and is probably a good sign for the weeks ahead for an Indianapolis team clinging to life.

WR Julio Jones

Inactive again in Week 6, Julio had suited up just twice on the 2022 season. He remains an elite talent, but isn’t healthy enough to show it, which is a depressing reminder that time’s winds reduce greatness to sand.

WR Russell Gage

For the third straight week, Gage had two catches for about 20 yards. That’s consistency, but it isn’t equaling out to terrific production. Until this Buccaneers offense really gets on track, Gage will likely remain a secondary option.

TE Hayden Hurst

After two straight quality games, Hurst came back down to earth a little bit, scooping up three catches for just 21 yards. He’s still on track to produce one of the better seasons of his career, and now he gets a crack at his former team in Week 7.

LB Foye Oluokun

Another 12 tackles for Oluokun, who also had a quarterback hit on the day against his old teammate Matt Ryan. He’s still putting up career best numbers in coverage and flying all over making tackles, and is on his way to a pretty terrific first season in Jacksonville.

DL John Cominsky

He’s still on injured reserve.

RB Mike Davis

He did not receive a touch in Week 6, and again, needs injuries to really get work in the Baltimore backfield.

OLB Dante Fowler Jr.

It was another tough day for the Cowboys, but not for Fowler. He put up his third sack of the season to go with a pair of tackles, and on pace for his finest season since…well, before he joined the Falcons, sadly.

P Thomas Morstead

This week, he boomed six punts for an average of 51.2 yards per punt, pinning two inside the 20. The Falcons are very happy with Pinion, but unsurprisingly Morstead has been very solid for Miami ever since joining up.

LS Josh Harris

Harris is a very good long snapper doing some very good long snapping.

DL Deadrin Senat

Senat had a sack against the Falcons in Week 5, which must have felt great for a player the team never seemed to find a role for, but was quieter this past week with the Buccaneers. He’s a rotational defensive lineman playing about 20% of the snaps in Tampa Bay, but the consistent role is a good thing for a player who is still young enough to be a contributor.

LB De’Vondre Campbell

Campbell’s coming off the finest season of his career, and while he’s still playing pretty well, his production has regressed a bit along with the rest of Green Bay’s squad this year. His big-time struggles in coverage that plagued him at times in Atlanta and Arizona are still in the past, and he should finish 2022 as one of the Packers’ better defenders.

S Duron Harmon

A full-time starter again for the Raiders, Harmon remains a rock solid tackler and widely-praised locker room presence, but is struggling mightily in coverage thus far in 2022. He’s still a very capable short-term starter, but allowing over 19 yards per completion is obviously not ideal.

TE Austin Hooper

Once a reliable, consistent chain-moving target for Matt Ryan and the Falcons passing game, Hooper has effectively disappeared in Cleveland. He’s at just six grabs for 55 yards on the season, and while he’s still just 27 years old, he looks like he badly needs a new landing spot to rejuvenate his career.

TE Eric Saubert

It’s sort of interesting to imagine Saubert starting his career in an offense that would’ve found him promising enough to pour time and energy into developing him early on. Now he’s settled in as a solid blocking reserve who can occasionally make a big catch, and this past week he was quiet.

RB Tevin Coleman

Re-united with Kyle Shanahan, Coleman still has his long speed but is no longer a down-by-down threat the way he was in Atlanta. Against the Falcons, he had four carries for three yards, an effort that was disappointing after he went eight carries for 23 yards and a touchdown against the hapless Panthers.

LB/S Keanu Neal

Pressed into full-time starting duty, Neal is doing solid work for the Buccaneers. He’s not going to transform back into the high-end starter he was for a brief time at the beginning of his career, but Neal is still reasonably young and should be able to keep carving out a role as a part-time starter.